Posted: 20th September 2019 | Back to news feed
Q. My horse has to spend more time than I would like in the stable during winter, how can I ensure this doesn’t impact on his digestive system?
A. As domesticated animals, horses live very different lives to how they would out in the wild; this is especially true during the winter months when they are stabled for long periods.
Horses evolved to leisurely graze for up to 17 hours a day, while roaming across large areas of land that would provide a diet of different grasses, herbs and vegetation.
When we stable our horses, sometimes for our own convenience or due to the fact that most horse owners only have a limited number of acres, this places them in an un-natural environment that can have a negative impact on their digestive health.
Fibre should make up at least 60% of a horse’s total rations and should be the starting point for any horse’s diet, regardless of their workload. During time in the stable, the horse often goes long periods without any fibre intake.
If there is insufficient fibre reaching the hindgut, this delicate microbial ecosystem can be upset, resulting in digestive disturbances, such as acidosis (mainly from excess lactic acid) and colic.
For this reason it is important to feed adlib forage, this also satisfies the horse’s natural desire to chew, helping to relive boredom and stress as a result of being confined and kept away from their field mates.
Limiting stress is also a major factor in ensuring good digestive health so try to ensure that your horse gets some time out of the stable every day to stretch his legs and interact with other horses.
If your horse requires concentrate feed to maintain weight or meet his energy requirements for his workload, split his rations into several small meals across the day.
By supplementing the diet with yeast cultures you can help reduce hind gut acidity, creating optimum conditions for the beneficial bacteria to flourish, thereby improving digestion, as well as nutrient absorption and buffering against digestive upset.
The Lifeforce Range from Alltech has been tailored to meet the needs of horses at every stage of life, from the early developmental stages as a foal, through the demands of competition, and well into retirement.
Each supplement is available in a 5kg tub, which provides a three month supply and prices start at £60.
For further information please visit www.lifeforcehorse.co.uk
The Equestrian Index newsfeed is compiled from articles submitted by advertising members and expresses the opinions of those members. Watsons Directories Ltd shall not be held liable for any inaccuracies or mis-statements therein.